Classic Holiday Dressing With a Savory and Sweet Upgrade
Elevate your holiday spread with Sage Sausage Dressing. This comforting side dish starts with a base of crumbled cornbread and potato bread with savory sage sausage. Diced apple adds a touch of sweetness, while carrots and garlic add depth. Fresh parsley, sage, and a blend of poultry seasoning, thyme, and marjoram infuse the dressing with herbal flavors that complement the roast turkey.
Sage Sausage Dressing
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
4 slices potato bread
8 ounces ground pork sage sausage
½ cup butter
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced celery
⅓ cup diced carrot
½ cup peeled diced crisp sweet apple
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 to 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth, as needed
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
Remove the cooled cornbread from the baking pan. Slice the cornbread, stack some slices, and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Note: Some of the cornbread will crumble as you cut it. Repeat until all of the cornbread is cut into pieces.
Stack the bread slices, and then cut it into 1-inch pieces.
Place the bread pieces (including cornbread crumbles) in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake the cornbread and bread for 10 minutes, stir, and then bake for 5 minutes more. The cornbread will be more golden than the bread.
While the bread is baking, cook and crumble the sausage in a large skillet set over medium heat until no longer pink. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate using a slotted spoon. Discard any grease in the skillet and wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel.
Return the skillet to the stove. Set the heat to medium-low and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onion, celery, carrot, and apple. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables and apple are just fork-tender. Add the garlic and parsley to the skillet and cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the sage, thyme, marjoram, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper; stir. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Set an oven rack in the center position. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Transfer the toasted bread pieces to a large mixing bowl. Add in the sausage and vegetable mixture; stir. Add the beaten egg and gently stir to combine. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and gently stir again, being careful not to break up the cornbread too much. If you prefer a moist dressing, add ½ cup of chicken broth, a little at a time, until it has reached the desired consistency. The dressing will dry out while it cooks, but you don’t want the stuffing to be too wet when placed into the oven.
Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish. Butter a piece of foil and cover the stuffing. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. For a crispier topping, set the oven to BROIL (don’t raise the oven rack) and broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until browned to your liking.
